14-0990-etz hayim arlington

The fol owing is a listing of Jewish and secular events throughout the school year, that each class wil
celebrate. Use the Hebrew Class Key to the right to help you identify which days and with which
classes your child wil celebrate any one particular event. Teachers can always use a helping hand, so if
you can participate in set-up or clean-up, please let your child’s room parent or teacher know at least a
week prior to any event. (All celebrations listed below are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and incorporate snack unless otherwise noted.)
SUKKOT IN THE SUKKAH A harvest festival that marks the end of the agricultural year and is
celebrated by taking four species of plant; palm (lulav), citron (etrog), myrtle and wil ow - and carrying
them in procession in the synagogue. The Sukkah is a booth erected during this festival which
commemorates G-d’s protection of the Jews in the desert. One is prescribed to dwel and eat in the
TU B’SHEVAT SEDER Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, is a holiday also
known as the “New Year for Trees.” The word "Tu" is the number 15 in Hebrew. Special fruits are
consumed on this holiday and in modern Israel the day is celebrated by tree-planting. Look for the
Jewish National Fund blue boxes that your children wil bring home. PURIM Purim is a joyous holiday that recounts the saving of the Jews from a threatened massacre
during the Persian period (539-330 BCE) and is the theme of the Book of Esther, whose eponymous
heroine plays the leading role. Etz Hayim Preschoolers wil come dressed as characters from the
Purim story and participate in a re-enactment as part of their class celebration.
PESACH Hebrew for “Passover.” Pesach celebrates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt,
which is thought to have occurred about 3,300 years ago. The week of Pesach opens with a festive
ritual meal, cal ed the Seder (meaning "order"). The Seder ritual is contained in a book cal ed the
Haggadah which means "tel ing," from the Biblical injunction to "Tel thy son" of the deliverance
from slavery in Egypt. During the week of Pesach, Jews eat only unleavened cracker-like bread
(matzoh) made from special flour that has been stored so that no yeast cel s or other leavening agents
could get into it. The Matzoh commemorates the unleavened bread that Jews had to bake in a hurry
when leaving Egypt. Etz Hayim preschoolers wil celebrate Pesach with a Seder in the social hal .
YOM HA’ATZMAUT Israel's Independence Day or ‘Birthday.’ It is celebrated on the fifth day of the
month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the state, when members of
the "provisional government" read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The
original date corresponded to May 14, 1948. At Etz Hayim Preschool the social hal wil be
transformed into a learning center ful of fun activities and exhibits dedicated to Israel.